


Found Family

by KoraDonDora



Category: Persona 4, Persona 5
Genre: Akira grows up in Inaba AU, Akira is a lonely child, And Yu can relate, But there's some SouYo in there, Fluff, Gen, Mostly Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, P5 cast doesn't show up until like waaaay later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-08-21 02:05:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16567526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoraDonDora/pseuds/KoraDonDora
Summary: Yu thought for a moment. Why was he so curious about Akira really? It’s not exactly like he had a real reason to be. But then he recalled the distressed face he saw when he went to the floodplain, his impassive expression and the lonely air that seemed to hang around him.And then he thought back to his own lonely childhood, and days where he’d do his own shopping and return to an empty apartment. He’d make his own dinner and sit alone at the table those nights, thinking of the empty promises his parents made to him when they said they’d be home that day.It all made perfect sense why he was so interested in Akira.





	1. The Little Boy With The Black Hair

The first time Yu runs into him is when he goes out to feed stray cats near the riverbank on a cloudy sunday afternoon in mid-July. He’s made a habit of stopping by on occasion, as he finds it relaxing to just sit on the grass and watch the water flow calmly.

He doesn’t expect to see a young boy with unruly black hair sitting under the gazebo, surrounded by a few of the strays he usually sees hanging around. He seems to be distressed, if his scrunched up face is anything to go by.

As he walks closer, he hears the boy murmur something too faint to make out as he scratches the ear of the small, white scottish fold perched on the table. The boy lets out a sigh, shoulders sagging slightly.

Yu watches him curiously. Something about this boy interests him. It’s as if he feels something familiar about him, despite clearly not knowing him. He’s not exactly sure what it is, but he feels _something_ nagging at him.

The boy looks up suddenly, eyes locking with Yu’s, and he feels himself stop as they engage in some sort of stare-off. The boy’s gaze is surprised for a moment, before he looks away quickly. He gets up from the bench and quickly scurries off.

 _'How odd.’_ Yu thought to himself.

\---------------

The next day at school, Yu thinks over his encounter with the unruly haired boy by the floodplain instead of paying attention to Kashiwagi’s lecture. He’s not sure why, but the boy is stuck in his head. He’s never seen someone like him hanging around, and he visits the floodplain quite often. There was something about how the boy had looked that made him feel funny. Almost as if he was looking in a mirror of sorts.

He feels someone tap on his shoulder and turns around to come face to face with Yosuke. The other boy leans forward slightly, giving Yu a concerned look.

“You okay dude? You look like you’ve got something on your mind,” Yosuke whispers quietly so he doesn’t draw attention to the two of them.

Yu nods quickly. “I’m alright,” he replies. After a moment, he whispers back, “I saw some kid by the floodplains. There was something… odd about him, I guess.”

Yosuke chuckled quietly. “You must have run into Kurusu-kun. I see him stop by Junes a lot.” He grimaced slightly. “And he always brings a dozen cats wherever he goes. We have to shoo them out of the store every time he comes in.”

“A fellow cat-whisperer I see,” Yu said thoughtfully, a small smile on his face. “sounds like a nice kid already.”

Yosuke frowned. “Eh, I dunno about that one Partner. He seems pretty aloof most of the time. The entire town’s always whispering about him and his family. Or lack thereof apparently.”

“What do you mean by that?” Yu asked, brows furrowed.

“My co-workers say that he lives by himself. Sometimes they like to give him extra stuff for free. They must feel bad for him.” Yosuke explains with a shrug, “I wonder if that’s true though…”

“Hanamura-kun, Narukami-kun,” Kashiwagi said, snapping the two out of their conversation. “You two are awfully chatty this morning. I’d appreciate it if you two could pay attention to the lesson perhaps?”

“S-sorry…” Yosuke mumbled quietly, looking down at his desk.

Yu quickly faced forward, trying to pay attention to the lesson. But really, he couldn’t get his mind off of what Yosuke had said. Did Kurusu really live by himself with no family to care for him? The thought made Yu feel uneasy as he recalled his own lonely childhood.

He’d continue to think about this for the rest of the day.

\---------------

Yu had some time to spare after school, so he’d figure he might as well stop by Junes and pick up groceries. Maybe he’d let Nanako help him with dinner that evening. She’d surely enjoy it.

Basket in hand, he made his way down the aisles, thinking of what he’d like to make for dinner that night. As he walked over to the produce section, he feels something hit his side. Yu fumbles for a second before steadying himself, just as he hears the dull thud of something hitting the ground. He looks down to see who he had run into, and it was none other than Kurusu. The younger boy stared blankly at the oranges that were now on the ground, probably knocked out of his basket when he had run into Yu, before letting out a sigh.

“Sorry,” Kurusu mumbled quietly, reaching down to pick up the fruit.

He studied the boy for a moment. The kid was young, had to be no older than thirteen years old. And yet here he was, alone in Junes despite the incidents happening in Inaba. Yu thought that any parent would be cautious of letting their child out alone, but clearly that didn’t apply to Kurusu.

And then he remembered what Yosuke had said about the rumors that the child lived all by himself and he immediately felt bad.

“You’re Kurusu-kun, right?” He asked carefully, trying not to scare the boy off.

Kurusu looked up at him, eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?” He asked suspiciously. He quickly finished picking up the fruit from off the floor and placed it back in his basket before quickly standing up. “Did you hear about me from the rumors? Wh-whatever people are saying about my parents isn’t true.” He said defensively, glaring up at Yu.

“I didn’t hear anything about your parents.” Yu said, trying to calm the boy down. “But what I did hear was about how you have a very large following of cats.” He said, smiling softly.

“Large following of cats?” Kurusu asked, confused.

Yu nodded. “Yep. A friend of mine says they like to come into the store with you. Said that him and his co-workers have to chase them out all the time too.” He said with a chuckle.

Kurusu just frowned. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled, scuffing his shoe on the floor. “I didn’t mean to cause them any trouble. It won’t happen again.”

Yu frowned. Kurusu seemed much too apologetic over something as silly as a few cats coming into Junes.

“Hey, I don’t think you need to apologize.” Yu said softly. “And I don’t think anyone is really mad at you either.”

“Really?” Kurusu asked, a hopeful gleam in his eye.

“Really.” Yu confirmed, nodding his head. “I should probably finish my shopping and get home. But I hope to see you around, Kurusu-kun.” Yu gave the boy a kind smile, before turning and walking away.

He walked down one of the aisles aimlessly, before coming to a stop, feeling thoughtful all of a sudden. He thought about how defensive Kurusu got over his parents, which struck Yu as odd. Even when he himself had been left home alone for a while, strange rumors about his parents never started up. But then again, Inaba was quite a small town, so it was probably easy for these kinds of rumors to take form. He wondered just what people were saying about the boys parents. Looks like he’ll just have to do some investigating.

\---------------

“Kurusu Akira? You mean the little boy with the black hair?” Yukiko asked as they all sat on the roof during lunch the next day. “I heard a few rumors about him at the inn from time to time.”

“I heard a few of ‘em too down by the shipping district.” Kanji added. “Rumor has it nobody really knows who his parents are. Kinda like they don’t exist.”

Yukiko smiled, eyes brightening. “Oh, what if it’s like one of those scary stories! An odd little kid living all alone in a haunted house…”

“Yukiko!” Chie shrieked. “You need to cut it out with those kinds of stories. Seriously…”

Yukiko tilted her head in confusion. “Huh? But scary stories are so interesting.”

Rise shook her head, pigtails swaying. “We’re getting off topic, senpai. But that rumor does sound interesting. What if Kurusu-kun really _doesn’t_ have any parents?”

Yosuke scoffed. “Don’t be silly. Those are just some dumb rumors. Besides, even if he doesn’t have parents, there’s gotta be _somebody_ watching him.” He turned to Yu, who was seated to the left of him. “Why’re you so interested in him all of a sudden anyways?”

Yu thought for a moment. Why was he so curious about Akira really? It’s not exactly like he had a real reason to be. But then he recalled the distressed face he saw when he went to the floodplain, his impassive expression and the lonely air that seemed to hang around him.

And then he thought back to his own lonely childhood, and days where he’d do his own shopping and return to an empty apartment. He’d make his own dinner and sit alone at the table those nights, thinking of the empty promises his parents made to him when they said they’d be home that day.

It all made perfect sense why he was so interested in Akira.

“He just reminds me of someone.” Yu finally answered. “And he seems lonely.”

“Aw, you’re so caring senpai!” Rise cooed, leaning in close to Yu from where she was sitting on his other side. The others rolled their eyes at this, still not quite used to Rise’s obvious affection towards Yu.

“More like he’s about as weak for kids as he is for cats.” Yosuke snickered.

Yu felt his cheeks heat up. “I-it’s not like that…” he protested weakly, “I’m just curious is all.”

Yosuke rolled his eyes. “Sure, Partner.”

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. The others got up, heading to the door, Yu walking slightly behind with Yosuke alongside him.

“Y’know,” Yosuke started, “I think maybe you have some sort of sixth sense when it comes to lonely kids. Not like it’s a bad thing though. I think it’s cool that you seem to want to be everyone’s big bro.” He finished, a teasing smile on his face.

“I already said it wasn’t like that,” Yu said, causing Yosuke to laugh.

\---------------

The next few days has him burning through the exams, so he hasn’t exactly had time to look into Akira’s situation any further. Making sure he gets to bed at a decent time is enough of a struggle as is, so surely this can be put on hold for a while.

By the time exams end and Sunday rolls around, Yu feels like an enormous weight was lifted off his shoulders. He feels good enough to take a stroll along the floodplain, fish on hand in case he runs into some strays.

The air is fresh and crisp, nothing like it is in the city, so he takes his time just walking around. He waves to the old man by the river, and even spots a cute looking japanese bobtail with mismatched eyes hiding behind one of the trees. He gives it some fish and makes sure to scratch it behind it’s ears, absolutely delighted by the contented purr it makes.

“Mai usually doesn’t let strangers pet her.”

Yu looks up, broken out of his cat-induced trance, and comes face to face with the mysterious Akira Kurusu.

The boy’s gaze is impassive, mouth drawn in a thin line. His eyes flicker between him and the cat beside him, before he slowly crouches down.

“Mai likes it best when you scratch underneath her chin.” Akira says quietly. He reaches out and scratches underneath the bobtail’s chin, and as he expects, the cat’s purring is even louder than when Yu had scratched her behind the ear. “See?” He looks back at Yu, awaiting a response.

Yu can’t help but smile. “She really seems to like you.” He says softly.

Akira’s lips twitch at that, but he keeps his stoic expression for the most part. “Well, I play with her a lot when I come here. She’s scared of the other cats though,” he pouts slightly, “but when I play with the others she gets all weird about it.”

Yu lets out a small chuckle, “Sounds like she’s jealous.”

Akira gives a hum of agreement in response, still stroking the cat’s soft fur. After a few moments of comfortable silence, he speaks again. “You seem to like cats a lot mister, seeing as your eyes lit up when you were petting Mai.”

“Mister?” Yu says curiously. He’s not necessarily bothered by Akira thinking he’s much older than her looks, since the kids at his daycare job seem to think the same thing due to his hair. But he takes interest in being referred to as ‘Mister' nonetheless. “I’m not that old, y’know. Probably not that much older than you.”

Akira frowns at that. “But your hair’s all gray. Doesn’t that make you old?”

Yu can’t help but laugh, despite himself. “My hair’s just naturally gray.” He explains, still smiling. “I’m only sixteen.”

“Oh, then that’s only five years between you and me.” Akira says. “What’s your name? I haven’t seen you in Inaba before.”

“Yu Narukami. I’m staying in Inaba for the school year since my parents are overseas.”

This causes Akira to look sullen, his hand going still on Mai’s back.

“Oh…” Is all he responds with, eyes downcast.

Yu pauses, remembers the rumors about Akira not even having parents, and suddenly he feels like he’s said the wrong thing. Before he can hastily change the subject however, Akira speaks up again.

“Are you lonely too, Narukami-san?”

Akira is still staring at the cat, not quite willing to meet Yu’s eyes. His words hang in the air, Yu feeling something uncomfortable settle in his stomach. He tries to think of the right thing to say, but now he’s suddenly unsure if anything he could possibly respond with _would_ be the right thing to say.

“Kurusu-kun.” He starts. His next words are cautious. “Would you like to come over for dinner?”

The boy looked at him with wide eyes. “Huh?”

“Would you like to come over for dinner?” He repeats, more confidently. “I’m sure my cousin would love the extra company. And well… it seems like you could use a more lively dinner experience.”

Akira is just staring at Yu at this point, mouth hanging open slightly. “Y-you want me to come over for dinner? Are you sure? Aren’t I a stranger to you?”

Yu shakes his head. “It’s fine, really.”

Akira goes back to looking at Mai, his expression contemplative. One of his hands goes to his fringe, twirling it in his fingers.

“I-I… I’ll come over…” he mumbles.

Yu smiles to himself, feeling accomplished and like he’s making progress.

\---------------

Dinner that evening is pretty interesting, with Nanako bombarding Akira with plenty of questions. Akira humors her well enough despite seeming rather uncomfortable about the whole situation, even going so far as to having a whole conversation with her about Neo Feathermen.

“You’re really cool, Kurusu-san!” She says cheerfully, beaming at him.

Yu chuckled inwardly at how Akira’s cheeks go red and how he ducks his head slightly in embarrassment.

“Th-thank you, Nanako-chan. You’re pretty cool too.” He says, smiling shyly.

Nanako cheers at this, clapping her hands together with joy.

Yu thinks that it’s nice to see Akira with something other than that blank expression. A look he’s all too familiar with seeing on his own face whenever he saw his reflection.

He hopes he can keep that expression away, if only for a little while.


	2. Let's Hang Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yu and Akira have a chat by the Samegawa

Of course life decides to spiral out of control when the case starts ramping up again. Days of wondering how Morooka was murdered passed and now suddenly they were chasing after Mitsuo Kubo in the TV world. Just finding the guy proved to be a challenge, since they hardly knew anything about him.

Nearly getting choked to death by a demonic looking baby in a video game dungeon was not how Yu envisioned the start of his summer going. But they managed to get Mitsuo out of there and hand him over to the police. His throat is sore and bruised afterwards, but it’s a small price to pay in exchange for a criminal being behind bars.

A few days after the whole ordeal, he finds himself at the floodplains once more, sitting on the pier with his feet dipped into the water. It’s surprisingly hot today, so the cool water felt great running between his toes. He wonders briefly if he’ll see Akira today, and hopes that he does. He feels bad for basically just up and vanishing after inviting him over for dinner, but of course a serial killer being on the loose probably takes priority over one lonely little boy.

He looks out over the water, mesmerized by how it sparkles in the sunlight. The air around him is crisp and fresh, nothing like how it is in the city.

“Narukami-san?”

Yu jolted slightly, snapped out of his reverie by someone calling out to him. He turned his head, and sees Akira standing over him.

Yu blinked up at him for a few moments, before smiling. “Hello, Kurusu-kun. What brings you here?”

Akira took a seat next to Yu on the pier, legs criss-crossed. “The house was too hot, so I wanted to come here to cool off,” He said nonchalantly. “I was planning on coming here anyways to see the cats. When it’s hot out, Ryo likes to hang around here.”

“Ryo?” Yu asked, his curiosity piqued.

“He’s the ragdoll cat that likes to curl around your leg whenever you come here. He’s pretty friendly, but I’m sure you already noticed that,” Akira explained with a smile.

“Sounds like someone’s been watching me.” Yu said teasingly. Even though he was teasing Akira, he found the fact that Akira had been so observant of him to be somewhat endearing.

Akira blushed out of embarrassment, staring down at his lap so he could avoid Yu’s mirthful gaze. “W-well, it’s just that I was curious about you. I know everyone who comes by the floodplain, so when you showed up it kinda threw me off I guess.”

“I see,” Yu said thoughtfully. “Well, I guess it would be odd to suddenly see some stranger in a town as small as this.”

“Yeah. It seems like a couple of new people are just showing up out of nowhere though. Like the guy who’s the mascot at Junes. I didn’t even know Junes had a mascot.” Akira’s brows furrowed in confusion. “He’s kinda weird too… I see him chatting up the female employees. Of course Hanamura-san usually yells at him for it.”

Yu chuckled at that. “Yep, that sounds about right. I’m actually friends with them. Yosuke is usually yelling at Teddie for being well… Teddie.” Yu made a vague gesture with his hand at the last part.

“Oh. By the way, Narukami-san,” Akira said, changing the subject, “I haven’t seen you around here lately.”

Yu scratched the back of his neck, laughing nervously. “Sorry. I kinda just dropped off the face of the Earth for a while didn’t I?”

“It’s alright. It’s not like you’re obligated to come and talk to me or anything. I mean, we hardly even know each other after all,” Akira said, absently messing with the lace on one of his shoes. “Besides, I’m used to that sorta thing.”

Yu frowned at that, feeling something uncomfortable clench his heart. The meaning of those words was something that hit a little too close to home.

“Well you shouldn’t be,” Yu said. “I don’t think it’s a good thing that you’re used to people suddenly just leaving you all on your own.”

Akira shrugged. “My folks do it all the time when they’re busy with work. I’d like to see them more often, but I know that they’re just trying to… y’know. Provide n’ stuff.” He leaned forward, looking into the Samegawa with an unreadable expression on his face.

The way Akira had explained that as if it was completely normal was unnerving to Yu. But what was really unnerving was just how familiar Akira’s situation was. The way that the boy had normalized his parents just leaving him all by himself made Yu think of how he used to do the same thing.

He knew now that he had to do something, anything, to make it so that the younger boy wasn’t lonely. But first, he had to truly understand the situation at hand.

“Kurusu-kun… When we were at Junes you had said something about rumors that involved your parents...” Yu began, “What exactly were the rumors?”

Akira stared at him for a few moments, before turning to look out at the water. He was quiet, as if mulling over what to say. Finally, he spoke.

“Well, it depends on who you ask. The rumors change a lot.” He began to pick at his shoelace again as he recalled the rumors that were spread around town about his family. “Some of the old housewives like to say that they don’t care about me and just want to get away from me. The people in the shopping district think that they just hate Inaba. And some of my classmates like to think that they’re dead.” Akira chuckled when recalling the last rumor. “That one’s kinda funny.”

“I don’t think it’s very nice to make up rumors like that about someone’s parents.” Yu said, frowning.

“I don’t pay attention to them most of the time. It’s just... Can’t they come up with something that’s, I dunno, reasonable?” The boy pouted, leaning forward as he rested his elbows on his legs. “Jeez, it’s as if they think this is some sort of dumb tv drama,” He sighed.

“So where are your parents exactly?” Yu asked.

“Nagoya. It’s for a business trip.”

“Did you not have any relatives who could have taken you in while they were away?”

Akira shook his head, curls bouncing. “Nope. My mom and her family don’t really get along too well, so she didn’t want me to stay with them. And then my dad’s family lives pretty far away. My parents didn’t think I’d like moving far away from Inaba, especially if it was only for a month or two.”

“Oh.”

“It’s no big deal,” He said, trying to ease Yu’s worries. “Besides, I get stuff from the neighbors whenever they’re gone.” Akira’s eyes had a mischievous glint in them now, and he smirked. “Being seen as a defenseless kid pays off sometimes.”

Yu chuckled, amused by the young boy’s smug expression. “I guess so.” He looked out over the water, somewhat lost in thought. “So how long have they been gone so far?” He asked after a few moments of silence.

“About two weeks. They’ll be back on the seventh of September.”

Yu hummed in thought, thinking over the days in his head. Suddenly, he had an idea.

“Why don’t we spend that time together, Kurusu-kun?”

Akira’s eyes went wide, mouth agape. “R-really? You want to hang out with me?”

“Mhm,” Yu hummed, nodding his head.

“B-but, don’t you have plans for the summer? Or friends to hang out with?” Akira asked, thoroughly confused. “Wouldn’t that be better than hanging around with me all summer?”

“I’m sure we’ll have plenty of fun together,” Yu said, giving Akira a soothing smile. He sounded as if he was confident that what he said was completely true.

He’d be working his hardest to make sure it _was_ completely true.

Akira’s cheeks went red all of a sudden, a sign that he was clearly flustered. But Yu could see the corner of the boy’s lips twitch, as if he was trying to hide a smile.

“O-Okay…” He mumbled. Then, more steadily, he said, “Okay, Narukami-san. We can hang out then.”

A comfortable silence settled between the two as they both looked at the water of the Samegawa. A sudden wave a contentment washed over Yu, and he felt at peace for once ever since his hectic week prior. Everything just felt right. Aside from one thing, however…

“Yu.”

Akira turned to Yu, brows furrowed in confusion. “Huh?”

“Just call me Yu,” Yu said, turning his head so he could look Akira in the eyes. He gave the younger boy a calm smile, grey eyes warm.

“O-oh. Ok,” Akira muttered dumbly, unsure of what else to say. Then, after a few beats of silence, he spoke again. “Then you can call me Akira,” he said softly, reaching up to twirl a part of his fringe between his fingers. He pointendly looked away from Yu, trying his best to hide the way his cheeks were tinged pink. But it did little to help him, as his ears were tipped pink as well.

“Is that alright with you?” Yu asked, amusement clear in his tone.

Akira shrugged. “Yeah… I mean, it’s only fair.”

“Alright then, Akira-kun.”

Just then, they heard a meow from behind them. The two turned, seeing Mai just a few feet away.

Akira’s face brightened. “Mai!” He called out, arms outstretched as the cat came running into them. He held her close, laughing as she nuzzled his cheek. Akira’s happy expression was only highlighted further by the sun, and Yu couldn’t help but smile fondly at the sight.

Looks like he has some planning to do this summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter, but that's mostly due to chapter 3 most likely being longer. Hope ya don't mind!


	3. Time Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the wait. This chapter is unbeta'd btw, so feedback would be greatly appreciated!

As soon as Yu had gotten home that day, he immediately made a list of things he and Akira could do together. He was unsure of what exactly to do for the most part. Referencing his own childhood didn’t help in the slightest, since all he did was study and read endless amounts of books. So, he decided to consult a friend.

He picked up his phone and scrolled through his contacts, before clicking on the icon labeled ‘Partner.’ He quickly typed out a message, before pressing send.

 

 **(8:02)** So I’m having a problem

 

He went to set his phone down on his desk, but before he could, it vibrated. He checked the new message waiting for him.

 

**Partner**

 

 **(8:03)** _wats up?_

 

Yu thought over how to word his problem in his head, and suddenly he thought it was silly that this was even a problem to begin with. But, he already got Yosuke’s attention, so he might as well ask anyways.

 

 **(8:04)** What exactly do kids like to do for fun?

 

 **(8:04)** _?_

 **(8:04)** _wdym_

 

Yu let out a sigh, leaning back in his desk chair as he typed out a response. He wasn’t sure if he should explain his situation to Yosuke fully or just be vague about it and hope for the best. He’s sure that if he told him, the brunet would probably go back to teasing him about trying to be ‘everyone’s big bro’ as he put it. But then again, telling the truth would probably help him more.

 

 **(8:06)** Well you see, I promised Akira that I would spend the summer with him.

 **(8:06)** I’m trying to come up with a list of things to do, but I’m not really sure what you’re supposed to do when it comes to children.

 

 **(8:07)** _dude_

 **(8:07)** _dont u work @ a daycare_

 **(8:07)** _u shld b like the ultimate caretaker @ this point, just work ur big bro magic_

 

 **(8:08)** Unfortunately I’m not. Plus I don’t think I necessarily have any “Big Bro” magic

 

 **(8:09)** _well idk. im not a kid expert so idk how to help u_

 **(8:09)** _srry_

 

 **(8:10)** It’s fine. I’ll just wing it.

 

 **(8:12)** _y dont u like_

 **(8:12)** _do smth with cats_

 **(8:12)** _he likes them rite? So y dont u take him 2 play with them or smth. Idk_

 

A lightbulb went off inside Yu’s head.

 

 **(8:13)** Yosuke that’s it. I got it now.

 

 **(8:13)** _oh shit i gave a good suggestion?_

 

 **(8:14)** A perfect one. I’ll talk to you later Yosuke, I have some planning to do. Thanks, by the way.

 

 **(8:14)** _ur welcome i guess? ttyl partner_

 

Yu smiled as he closed his phone, suddenly feeling confident about the coming days.

\---------------

A few days later Yu found himself by the floodplains once more with Akira. Before meeting up with him, Yu had made sure to stop by Junes for cat treats and a few toys. He hid them behind his back as he approached the black-haired boy, whom eyed him with suspicion.

“You look like you’re up to something, Yu-san,” Akira said, trying to peek around Yu to see what he was hiding.

Yu brought out the bag of items he bought, handing them over to Akira with a smile. “We’re going cat hunting today.”

Akira tilted his head to the side, clearly confused. He looked down into the bag, and saw an assortment of treats and different toys, ranging from fake mice to a cat wand. “What’d you buy these for?” He asked, peering back up at Yu through messy bangs.

“For when we find the cats. Why don’t we play with them today?” Yu suggested.

Akira smiled then, nodding his head. “Alright.”

The two boys wandered the floodplain together, looking around for any strays that they could play with. But for some odd reason, it was as if all the strays seemed to have vanished. The two could not seem to find a single one.

After a few more minutes of searching, the two took a break underneath gazebo. Akira was frowning, head propped up on his hands as he leaned on the table. Yu sat next to him, letting out a soft chuckle at Akira’s expression.

“This hasn’t turned out quite like I planned it to.” He ruffled Akira’s hair, giving the boy a kind smile. “It’s alright. Why don’t we find something else to do?”

Right as Akira was going to respond, the two heard a soft meow in the distance. The two look behind them, and find the source of the sound. It was a small russian blue, sitting idly by one of the trees near the gazebo. It stares at the pair, blinking owlishly.

Yu reaches into the bag from Junes for the treats, before holding them out to Akira. Akira looked up at Yu with a quizzical expression, and Yu just nudged Akira slightly with the box, an amused smile on his face.

“Go on,” He urged.

Akira slowly took the box of treats from Yu’s hands, before getting up from the table. He approached slowly, trying his best not to scare the cat off. He crouched down a few feet away, before reaching into the box of treats. Taking a few in his hand, he set them down on the ground in front of him, hoping for the cat to take them.

The cat alternated between looking at Akira, and looking at the treats, as if trying to decide whether or not it’s safe. Then slowly, after a few moments, it pads over to where the treats lie. It sniffed at them and then, hesitantly, began to eat them. While it’s eating, Akira slowly reached out, before gently placing it’s hand on the cat’s back. The cat started, but made no move to run away. Once Akira began to run his hand along the cat’s soft fur, it let out a purr of content, and continued to eat the treats.

Akira smiled softly, grey eyes holding a fond warmth to them. “Hey there.” He spoke softly, and the cat let out a quiet meow in response, looking to peer up at him with wide green eyes. It shifted, moving to nuzzle Akira’s hand with it’s head. This got a soft laugh out of the young boy, and he pet behind the cat’s ear as it purred softly.

Yu got up from the bench and went to crouch down beside Akira. “Seems like you’ve made a friend.” He murmured, trying not to startle the cat.

Akira let out a pleased hum in response, eyes still trained on the grey feline. “She’s pretty. I wonder how such a nice cat would end up being a stray.” He gently scooped the cat into his arms, before standing up. “For awhile I didn’t think we’d find any cats.” He looked at Yu and gave him a smile, grey eyes bright and swimming with warmth. “But I think this one cat makes up for it.”

Yu couldn’t help but smile back. “I think so too.”

\---------------

When Akira had said he had never been to Souzai Daigaku, Yu had taken him there almost immediately. The cat from the floodplains had followed them, it’s tail swishing back and forth as it trailed behind the pair. Akira had decided to call her Midori, due to her green eyes and Yu had thought that the name was clever.

Soon the two of them were sitting down at the table, a plate of steak croquettes in front of them both. Akira eyed the steaks with wide eyes, mouth watering at the smell.

“This looks really good,” Akira said, voice filled with awe. He looked up, brows furrowed with worry. “Are you sure it’s alright just letting you pay for this though?” He asked.

Yu nodded, smiling. “Of course it is.”

“You know… I could just pay you back for this,” Akira mumbled, staring down guiltily at his steak croquettes and worrying at his lip. “My parents left me money, so I’m sure I have enough to pay you back.”

“Really, it’s alright,” Yu said. “You don’t have to worry about paying me back.”

Akira’s eyebrows furrowed, and he gave Yu a heavy frown. The boy clearly wasn’t a fan of letting Yu pay for their lunch, and it definitely showed. The older boy couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him, which only served to make Akira confused.

“Wh-what’s so funny?” Akira asked, frown turning into a childish pout.

“You were just making a really serious face,” Yu explained. “I thought it was pretty funny. Now then, why don’t we eat before the food gets cold?”

Yu heard Akira mumble a weak “Fine” in response as he glumly picking up his chopsticks and breaking them apart. Akira idly picked at his steak croquettes, before breaking off a piece of one and popping it into his mouth. The boy’s eyes immediately widened, and he let out a hum of delight as he went in for more.

“These are really good!” He exclaimed, stuffing his face with another mouthful of steak croquette.

“I’m glad you like them,” Yu replied in between bites of his own steak croquettes.

Midori meowed from her spot on the ground next to where Akira was sitting, nuzzling his leg. She peered up at Akira with big greens eyes, practically begging for scraps. Akira, of course, relented, passing her a small piece from one of his steak croquettes.

“Yo, Senpai!”

The pair looked up to find the source of the voice, spotting Kanji walking down the street towards them.

“Hey Kanji,” Yu greeted once Kanji had approached the table.

“Didn’t think I’d see ya around here,” Kanji said, stuffing his hands in his pocket. He nodded at Akira, and the boy gave a small nod of his own in return. “What’re you guys up to?”

“Well we were just at the riverbank looking for cats. I decided to bring Akira here for lunch since he’s never eaten anything here before,” Yu explained.

“Really?” Kanji asked, voice laced with confusion. “Aren’tcha like an Inaba local? And you’ve never been to Souzai Daigaku?”

Akira began to idly pick at his steak croquettes. “No. My parents are always busy so they’ve never taken me here before. And I’ve never had a reason to stop by here on my own,” He answered.

“Oh. Well then I guess it makes sense,” Kanji said, scratching the back of his neck.

Akira looked up from his food, and his eyes caught sight of something sticking out of Kanji’s pocket. From what he could see, it looked like it was a small knit kitten of some kind.

“Is that a cat?” Akira asked, pointing at Kanji’s pocket. “Where did you get it?”

Kanji’s face immediately became red, and he fumbled slightly with his words. “I-I um… It’s nothin’...” He mumbled awkwardly.

Akira just stared at Kanji for a few awkward moments, before going back to his croquettes. He figured the older boy didn’t want to talk about it, so he wasn’t going to push the subject.

And then Yu spoke up.

“You made it, didn’t you Kanji?”

Akira looked up again, only to see Yu giving Kanji what seemed to be a smile of encouragement. Kanji on the other hand seemed to be panicking.

“S-senpai, I-.”

“It’s alright Kanji. Nobody here is going to laugh at you. Right, Akira-kun?” Yu asked, turning his gaze towards Akira.

Akira nodded his head, giving the older boy a gentle smile. “I wouldn’t laugh if you made it. I was actually going to ask if I could see it.”

Kanji looked dumbstruck for a moment, before begrudgingly pulling the small knit kitten out of his pocket and handing it over to Akira. His face had remained red the whole time, his embarrassment not dying down in the slightest.

“I-it’s nothin’ special…” He grumbled, awkwardly stuffing his hands back in his pockets.

Akira studied the kitten, noticing the amazing detail and the impressive needlework. The kitten was purple in color, and had green button eyes. It was wearing a small collar that even included a tiny bell.

“It’s cute.” He said, handing the plush back to Kanji. “I like it.”

“O-oh…” Kanji said dumbly, unsure of what to say. He stared at his shoes. “Well uh… thanks.”

“Can I have one?”

Kanji looked up again, eyes locking with Yu, who only gave him a thumbs up in return. “Well I… I uh…”

“It’s really cute. I could pay you, if you want,” Akira offered.

Kanji gave a noncommittal shrug. “Well… ya don’t have to… I mean…” Kanji let out a sigh. “I can make ya one kid. If ya really want.”

“Really?” Akira asked, eyes lighting up.

Kanji nodded. “Yeah, really.”

Akira couldn’t help the wide grin that broke out on his face. “Thank you, Tatsumi-san!”

“No problem,” Kanji said. “Well, I’m gonna head back to the shop. Promised Ma I’d help her out today.”

“It was nice seeing you Kanji,” Yu said, giving Kanji a smile that made him look like he was rather proud of Kanji.

“You too, senpai. See ya later.”

After waving goodbye to the pair, Kanji was off. The two went back to eating their steak croquettes in a comfortable silence, with Midori letting out the occasional pleased purr as Akira passed her scraps.

Akira let out a hum once he was finished, leaning forward on the table with his elbows. “Tatsumi-san seems nice. Although is it healthy for his face to be that red for so long?”

“Kanji’s just… Awkward, when it comes to talking about his hobbies,” Yu said, hoping that was an adequate explanation. “But yeah, he’s a nice guy. He may seem gruff, but really he’s just a big softie.”

Yu smiled as he said this, and Akira let out a snort. “You sound like a mom,” Akira teased, smirking at Yu and causing the teen to roll his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. Now you’re starting to sound like one of my other friends.”

“I only speak the truth,” Akira said, placing a hand over his heart. “Right, Midori?”

The cat meowed loudly in response, as if agreeing with him.

“And here I thought she was a nice cat,” Yu said jokingly.

Akira gasped in mock hurt, pretending to be offended. “How _dare_ you. _All_ cats are nice, Yu-san. And here I thought you were a true cat lover.”

The two stared at each other for a few moments, before bursting out into a fit of giggles. It was nice to joke around like this, and Yu was happy to see Akira’s more playful side come out. He always wondered what other facets Akira had to his personality, and it seemed as if he was finally letting one of them come to light.

“Akira-kun, would you like to come over for dinner again? It’s been a while, and I’m sure Nanako would enjoy seeing you again.”

Akira nodded. “Sure, since it’s alright with you.”

“We’ll need to stop by Junes first though,” Yu said as he stood up. “I don’t think Nanako went grocery shopping yet, and I need some ingredients to make ginger pork.”

“Alright then.”

With that, the two headed off to Junes.

\---------------

“Hey Partner!”

Yu turned to see Yosuke walking towards him and Akira as they milled about in the produce section, Teddie in tow and boxes in hand.

“Sensei!” Teddie exclaimed, clearly excited to see Yu. “I’m glad that you decided to stop by. Yosuke’s been bear-y rude to me!” He huffed, pouting all the while.

“Dumb bear, that’s because you were flirting with the customers again,” Yosuke grumbled. He gave Yu a cheerful smile when he turned to look at him. “So, what’re you up to?”

“Me and Akira-kun are just buying stuff for dinner tonight.”

Teddie peered curiously at the younger boy, who only shuffled slightly behind Yu to avoid Teddie’s gaze.

“Akira-kun?” He asked, eyes never leaving the black-haired boy. “You’ve never mentioned him to me before, Sensei. Oh! Is he your cousin like Nana-chan?”

“No. We’re kind of like…” Yu trailed off, at a loss for words to describe his and Akira’s relationship.

Yosuke snickered. “That’s the kid that Yu’s trying to make his new little sibling. I bet he’ll be calling you ‘Big bro’ in no time.”

Yu flushed, and opened his mouth to protest. “I’m not-.”

“So you’re trying to be Akira-kun’s Honorary Big Bro!” Teddie cut in, a look of excitement on his face. “Can you be my big bro too, Sensei? I’ll call you Big Bro-Sensei!”

Teddie was practically vibrating where he stood, all excited energy and happiness. Yosuke meanwhile was laughing at Yu’s flustered expression.

“Th-that’s not how it is, I swear,” Yu protested. “Right Akira?”

Yu looked down at the younger boy, hoping that he would set the record straight. But all of Yu’s hope died the second he laid eyes on Akira’s face. The boy was smirking, gray eyes filled with mischief. He looked at Yu with what the teen could only describe as a wide shit-eating grin.

And then, with the most serious voice he could muster, he spoke.

“ _Yu-niisan_.”

Yosuke’s reaction was instantaneous, bursting into a laughing fit that could rival even Yukiko. Teddie immediately began to hit Yu with a barrage of questions, most of them being whether or not he would be Teddie’s Honorary Big Bro as well. Meanwhile Akira just kept that same smirk on his face as Yu’s cheeks burned bright red.

“See, I told you!” Yosuke said in between laughs. After calming down a bit, he gave Akira a bright smile and a nod. “Good kid. He knows what’s up.”

“Thanks, Hanamura-san.” Akira said, nodding back.

“I can’t believe I’m being teased by the ones I trusted most,” Yu said dramatically, letting out a drawn out sigh. He put his hand over his heart, as if he was wounded. “I had faith in you, Akira-kun.”

“Well clearly it was misplaced,” He responded, eyes filled with mirth.

“Clearly,” Yu agreed. He turned to Yosuke and Teddie. “Well, we should finish up and head home. Nanako’s probably wondering where I am.”

“Alright, I’ll let you off easy for now. But don’t forget, you’re now an Honorary Big Bro,” Yosuke teased. He leaned down slightly, getting close to Akira. “Don’t let him live it down.”

Akira smiled. “Got it.”

Yosuke stood back at full height. “Well, we’ve got work to do. I’ll text you later, Partner,” Yosuke said, throwing Yu a wink. “C’mon Ted.”

As the two walked off, Yu could hear Teddie complain all the while about Yu never agreeing to be his Big Bro as well.

“Your friends are pretty funny,” Akira said, grinning up at Yu.

Yu chuckled slightly. “Funny is one way to put it I guess.” He nodded his head towards the produce section. “Now let's finish shopping.”

\---------------

“Welcome home big bro!” Nanako greeted, running up and hugging Yu around his waist. When she pulled away she spotted Akira lingering in the entryway, and smiled at him. “Kurusu-san! Are you staying for dinner?”

Akira nodded, giving Nanako a kind smile. “Yep.”

“Yay!” Nanako cheered. She grabbed Akira by the arm, dragging him along to the living room. “Come on, we can watch the quiz show together!”

Yu chuckled as he watched Nanako force a surprised Akira along. “Better watch out, Nanako’s pretty good at getting the right answers,” He called out after them.

Yu went to the kitchen to put the groceries he didn’t need away, while also getting out the things he needed to make the ginger pork. When he was done, he looked over his shoulder to see what Akira and Nanako were up to.

The two were already invested in the quiz show, both of them trying to guess answers, and helping each other out when they got stuck. Akira turned to Nanako, saying something that Yu didn’t quite catch. But it had caused Nanako to burst into a small fit of giggles as she nodded along. Yu couldn’t help but find the sight endearing, to say the least.

If this was how summer with Akira was going to go, then Yu had a lot to look forward to.


	4. Big Bro Relaxation Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira notices that Yu tends to overwork himself and decides to do something about it

Akira is pretty good at noticing when people tend to overwork themselves. Years of watching his parents come home dead on their feet just made him more keen to pick up on that sort of thing. And due to his parents, he tended to be a bit concerned when he saw someone pushing themselves to meet some impossible self-set standard.

Yu, as Akira would come to find out, absolutely loved helping others. It wasn’t just Akira that Yu would make time for. Apparently just about everyone in Inaba was someone Yu had to lend a helping hand to. There was the old widow, the mother and her son, that one stuck up girl who went to Yasogami, you name it. Akira was downright baffled by just how many people the older boy was willing to set aside time for. He certainly couldn’t see himself doing that.

So Yu was pretty much always doing anything and everything to make others happy. He was just that kind of guy. But Akira didn’t miss the subtle signs that Yu was tired. Heck, Akira watched as he almost nodded off while they were fishing. The only thing that stopped him from going face first into the river was Akira making sure to keep him steady.

Of course whenever Akira actually asked about it, Yu’s immediate response was to play it off.

“I’m fine,” He’d say, giving Akira a reassuring smile. It almost made him want to roll his eyes. Pressing the subject never seemed to do anything, as Yu somehow seemed to be a master of changing the topic. By bringing up cats of course.

Damn him and his weakness for felines.

But today was a new day. Which meant another day to watch as Yu carries on as if nothing is wrong. He’s not sure how Yu managed to stay calm all the time with how demanding his social life seemed to be, but it’s quite impressive.

“You know,” He starts as they’re watching quiz shows alongside Nanako. The three are seated on the couch, Yu in the middle while Nanako and Akira take up a spot on either side of him. “If you’re tired, you don’t have to spend the day with me,” He says, picking at a stray piece of thread coming off of the couch.

Yu turns his head towards Akira, frowning. “But I promised-.”

“Yu-san,” Akira says firmly, effectively cutting him off. “If you’re tired, you should rest. Not spending _one_ day together isn’t going to kill you.”

The look Yu gives him reminds Akira of his mother. Pursed lips, and a surely furrowed brow beneath his bangs. His mother always looked like that whenever Akira commented about her looking like she needed to rest. His father was more likely to laugh it off and distract Akira with something else.

Yu turned back towards the TV, but Akira could tell that he wasn’t really paying attention. He has that look in his eye that he usually got when he was thinking real hard about something. A few moments of silence pass by, before Yu lets out a sigh.

“I’m fine, really,” Is all he says, as expected. Akira’s just come to term with the fact that Yu is surprisingly stubborn about this sort of thing.

“Are you two fighting?” Nanako asks quietly, voice laced with drowsiness. She lets out a small yawn, stretching out the arm that currently isn’t locked with Yu’s.

Yu gives her a soft smile, trying to look as reassuring as possible. “Of course not.” Upon noticing her tired expression, his smile fades. “Do you want me to take you to bed Nanako? You look tired.”

“Mhm,” She mumbles, curling herself into Yu’s side. Akira can’t help but find the sight adorable.

Yu stands up, untangling his arm from Nanako’s before gently scooping her into his arms. “C’mon Nanako, time for bed. Say goodnight to Akira-kun.”

“G’night Kurusu-san…” She murmured, already nodding off with her head rested on Yu’s shoulder.

“Goodnight, Nanako-chan,” He replies, smiling despite her not being able to see it. He watches as Yu carries her off to her room, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Something bothered him about Yu constantly stretching himself thin just to give everyone his attention. It’s times like this when Akira remembered that Yu isn’t as perfect as people think. He gets strained just like everyone else, and eventually he’s going to crash.

Crash. Just like his mother had sometimes. She’d come home so tired and stressed out. He could hear the faint crying from her room, and something cold and uncomfortable settled in his gut whenever he thought about it.

He bit his lip, looking to where Yu had gone off to put Nanako to bed. Yu wasn’t going to end up like that, obviously. He doesn’t have nearly as much pressure on his shoulders as Akira’s parents. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t allowed to worry about one of his only friends in this small town. He thought the situation over in his mind, and suddenly got an idea.

He shot up from the couch before running towards the doorway, right as Yu had come back down the stairs.

“Akira-kun? Are you leaving?” He asked, watching as the younger boy pulled on his shoes.

“Yeah,” Akira responded, tying his shoe strings before standing up. “There’s something I have to do in the morning, so I gotta get to bed as soon as possible,” He explained, puffing out his chest.

“Oh. You’ll come by in the evening again right?” He asked. “Nanako enjoys having you here as her quiz show buddy. I’m actually kind of jealous,” Yu said, smiling.

Akira gave Yu a nod, smiling back. “Of course! I can’t just leave Nanako-chan hanging.” He went towards the door, stopping and waving goodbye to Yu. “Goodnight Yu-san, see you tomorrow!”

Yu gave Akira a small wave. “Goodnight.”

With that Akira left the Dojima residence, trying to work out the details of his plan. This would definitely require him to rise bright and early. But it would be worth it if it meant Yu got a break.

\---------------

Yu was very organized when it came to his daily schedule. He had practically everyday planned down to a T when it came to managing the people in his life, trying to make room for anyone who needed him.

Of course he had a bad habit of taking on too much at once, but it was worth it in the end if it meant being of help to someone. Whether it be an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on or in some cases, a stomach that’ll handle some toxic cooking experiment gone wrong, he was always willing to be there.

So when he went to the river bank to find Chie to train and saw no sign of her, he was a bit lost, to say the least. They usually trained every Tuesday, and with the start of summer vacation came a more rigorous schedule. Chie had insisted on it, and Yu thought it would be a good way to stay in shape, even if they had wrapped up the case.

He pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts until he found Chie’s number.

 

 

> **Yu**
> 
> **(12:30 pm)** Is everything alright Chie? I’m waiting for you at the Samegawa.

 

He waited a few minutes for a reply, before his phone vibrated.

 

> **Chie S.**
> 
> **(12:35 pm)** _Sorry! I can’t make it. Helping Yukiko at the Inn today…_
> 
>  
> 
> **Yu**
> 
> **(12:37 pm)** It’s fine. I was just wondering where you were.
> 
>  
> 
> **Chie S.**
> 
> **(12:37 pm)** _I should have sent u a message before u left. My bad._
> 
>  
> 
> **Yu**
> 
> **(12:39 pm)** Don’t worry about it. We still on for next week? 
> 
>  
> 
> **Chie S.**  
> 
> **(12:39 pm)** _U bet! Talk to u later!_
> 
>  
> 
> **Yu**
> 
> **(12:40 pm)** Talk to you later, Chie.

 

Yu snapped his phone shut, feeling at a total loss of what to do. With Chie helping Yukiko, that meant his afternoon was free up until two. And with Yukiko most likely being busy for the rest of the day that meant even more of his afternoon was free too. But really that might have been a blessing in disguise. He’s not sure if his stomach would be able to handle another one of Yukiko’s meals.

He ran through the mental list of his friends, thinking of who else he could spend time with. Rise and Kanji were most likely unavailable until at least one thirty, which was when they were meant to meet up so they could head to Okina. He had promised Kanji that they’d go look for knitting materials together, and Rise had wanted to tag along to visit Croco Fur and the Chagall Cafe.

He let out a sigh, realizing that he might as well just go home for now. He’s sure he has some reading and summer homework to catch up on to pass the time. He began the walk back to the Dojima residence, completely unaware of the eyes watching him as he went.

 

\---------------

 

An hour and thirty minutes and a few finished assignments later he finds himself in front of the Shrine Entrance, waiting for Kanji and Rise where they agreed to meet up before heading to the station. He checks his watch, noting that it’s already one forty-five and neither Rise nor Kanji have shown up yet. His phone vibrates in his pocket suddenly, and he pulls it out to see that he has two new messages.

 

 

> **Kanji T.**  
> 
> **(1:46 pm)** _I’m gonna have to cancel on the trip to Okina, Senpai. My mom needs me to help out around the shop today._
> 
>  
> 
> **Rise K.**
> 
> **(1:46 pm)** _senpaaaaaaai! im so sorry!!! (｡•́︿•̀｡) grandma needs me to help at the shop! so i cant go to okina（ ; ; ）i promise ill make it up to u! <3 _
> 
>  

Yu stared at the messages for a moment. It was certainly odd that they both seemed to have texted him at the same time with practically the same excuse. Something seemed off about this. But, if they truly were busy then there was nothing Yu could do about it.

He shoots them both a text saying that it’s fine, before pocketing his phone. First Chie and Yukiko, and now Rise and Kanji? With all of them being busy, that meant he had practically the entire day to himself. If he felt at a loss before, he definitely felt so now.

He let out a long sigh, before heading back in the direction of the Dojima household. He figured he’d be sitting around all day until Akira showed up. He pulled out his phone again, opening up Yosuke’s contact.

 

 

> **Yu**
> 
> **(1:55 pm)** I think everyone is ghosting me?
> 
>  
> 
> **Partner**
> 
> **(1:56 pm)** _ghsting?_
> 
> **Yu**
> 
> **(1:58 pm)** So you know how I usually train with Chie on Tuesdays right? Well she cancelled on me since she’s helping Yukiko at the inn. And that means that Yukiko is most likely busy today so I probably won’t see her this afternoon to help with her cooking.
> 
>  
> 
> **(1:59 pm)** Not… that I mind exactly. But that’s besides the point.
> 
>  
> 
> **(2:00 pm)** So now both Rise and Kanji cancelled on our trip to Okina. And it was for basically the same reason too. Maybe I’m just being a bit too wary, but I feel like something’s going on?
> 
>  
> 
> **Partner**
> 
> **(10:02)** _partnr, im sher ur jst wrrying 2 much. u no Knji n Rise wldnt cncel if it wsnt srs._
> 
>  
> 
> **Yu**
> 
> **(2:03 pm)** Yeah. It’s just odd that they sent me a text at the exact same time.
> 
>  
> 
> **(2:03 pm)** To be honest, I’m not sure what to do now. I’m used to having a full schedule, and now it’s virtually empty.
> 
>  
> 
> **Partner**
> 
> **(2:04 pm)** _id hng out w/ u if i cld. but u no, wrk._
> 
>  
> 
> **Yu**
> 
> **(2:05 pm)** It’s fine. I’ll just head home and wait for Akira to drop by. I’m sure Nanako will be happy anyways. I’ll text you when I get home.
> 
>  
> 
> **Partner**
> 
> **(2:06 pm)** _y go hme if u hve the day off????_
> 
>  
> 
> **(2:06 pm)** _ths is lyk, the bst tme 4 u 2 do w/e u wnt w/o hving 2 wrry abt any1 else._
> 
>  
> 
> **(2:07 pm)** _dnt thnk i dnt c how strssed u r. u hve a bad hbit of trying 2 do 2 mch at 1 time_
> 
>  
> 
> **(2:07 pm)** _so lyk… go pet sme cats or smth, idk. just relax._
> 
>  
> 
> **Yu**
> 
> **(2:08 pm)** Alright, alright. I didn’t think you worried about me that much Yosuke.
> 
>  
> 
> **(2:08 pm)** It actually makes me happy.
> 
>  
> 
> **Partner**
> 
> **(2:09 pm)** _dude, ur my partnr. its what im here 4_
> 
>  
> 
> **(2:09 pm)** _bsides, some1 has 2 mke sher u arnt gnna keel ovr n die bcuz u work 2 mch._
> 
>  
> 
> **Yu**
> 
> **(2:10 pm)** Well, I don’t think I’m going to die anytime soon, but it’s nice to know you’re looking out for me.
> 
>  
> 
> **Partner**
> 
> **(2:11 pm)** _shit, dads on me abt txtng. ttyl partnr._
> 
>  
> 
> **(2:11 pm)** _n mke sher u relax. ill no if u arnt_
> 
>  
> 
> **Yu**
> 
> **(2:12 pm)** Alright Yosuke. Talk to you later.
> 
>  

Yu closed his phone and continued walking, but Yosuke’s words stuck in his head. He _did_ have the day off. Something that seemed to be a luxury nowadays with all that’s happened in the last couple of months. Maybe he _should_ relax. And what better way to do that then with a quick stop by the riverbank for a bit of cat petting.

\---------------

 

When Yu got home around two hours later, the first thing he noticed was Mai curled next to the front door.

“Hello, Mai,” He greeted quietly. He receives a small meow in response, Mai’s tail giving a lazy flick.

He was curious as to why she was here. Usually Mai was following around Akira, and the only time he saw her here was when the younger boy came over to visit. He briefly wondered if maybe Akira was doing something today and if Mai had decided to drop by due to his absence. He figured there was no reason to dwell on it, and decided to head inside.

What he didn’t expect was Nanako already waiting at the door for him, a blanket bundled in her arms as she peered up at him with sparkling eyes.

“Welcome back!” She chirped, giving him a bright smile.

“Hey Nanako,” He replied, giving her a smile of his own. “What’s the blanket for?”

“We’re having an inter… interva…” She furrowed her brow, pouting slightly as she struggled to pronounce a word.

“Intervention,” someone whispered, hidden out of sight.

“Intervention!” She exclaimed, nodding her head. “We’re having an intervention Big Bro!”

Yu quirked a brow at this, an amused smile coming to his face. “An intervention?”

“Yep!” She reached out and grabbed Yu’s hand, dragging him further inside. “So come and sit down.”

As soon as the pair went further into the house, they were greeted by the entire Investigation Team alongside Akira spread out around the living room. Everyone aside from Yosuke and Akira were seated by the table, which had an assortment of snacks and drinks placed on it, such as popcorn, chips and candy.

“Welcome home Big Bro!” they all chimed, giving him bright smiles.

Yu blinked, eyes wide as he took everything in. “What’s going on?”

“Well,” Chie began, “We know how much work you do trying to make people happy. And we know we aren’t much help...” She scratched the back of her neck sheepishly as she trailed off.

“So, we decided we’d give you the day off,” Yukiko said, smiling. “We’re calling it Big Bro Relaxation Day! Isn’t that funny?” She finished, breaking into a small fit of giggles.

Yu raised a brow, and Akira spoke up from his spot on the couch when noticing his visible confusion, “Nanako-chan came up with the name,” He explained.

“Yep! Kurusu-san said it was a good one!” She beamed, swaying from side to side. Yu gave a her a fond smile and ruffled her hair.

“I think so too,” He said softly. He looked back up at the group. “So I’m guessing that you guys being busy was all just a lie?”

Kanji gave Yu a sheepish smile. “Pretty much.”

“And who’s idea was this?”

Yosuke smirked. “Kurusu-kun,” He answered, jacking a thumb towards the boy sitting on the couch next to him.

Akira’s cheeks flushed in response, and he sank into the couch. “Why’re you tellin’ him that?” He mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

“Well I mean you were the one who basically cornered us all and told us what to do,” He said, giving Akira a pat on the shoulder. He looked back at Yu. “The kid’s surprisingly persuasive y’know.”

“So you’re the one behind all this, Akira-kun?” Yu asked.

Akira looked flustered, reaching up and twirling his fringe between his fingers, a sign that Yu had come to learn meant he was embarrassed. He found it endearing, in a way.

“Well, yeah,” He murmured. “You work a lot, so I thought you needed a break, is all.”   

The girls all cooed at him, finding Akira’s embarrassment to be adorable, much to the boy’s chagrin. Meanwhile Kanji, Yosuke and Teddie couldn’t help but laugh.

Rise turned to Yu, giving him a smile. “Well, what’re you waiting for, Senpai? We’ve got movies to binge, so sit down.”

“Yeah, Sensei!” Teddie exclaimed, clearly excited. “Akira brought his Neo Feathermen DVD set!”

Yu let himself be guided to the couch by Nanako, sitting down on Akira’s right while Nanako crawled onto the couch next to him. She draped the blanket over him, telling him that he was supposed to be comfortable and relax. He couldn’t help the fondness that welled up inside of him, not only because of Nanako, but due to his friends as well.

Nobody had ever thought to step in when he worked too hard. His parents were workaholics themselves, so he supposed that doing too much was just something that came naturally to him. Working hard was encouraged by them, and he felt like he always had to meet whatever expectations they set for him. And if that meant coming home feeling absolutely exhausted, then so be it. So it meant a lot to him that someone cared enough to think he needed a break.

He felt someone tug on his sleeve, and looked to see Akira glancing up at him, a small smile on his face.

“We should do this more often.” He said. “Your friends are really cool.” He leaned in close, cupping a hand near his mouth so nobody could hear him. “Plus it’s not everyday that you get to be in the same room as _Risette_ ,” He whispered.

Yu chuckled at that. “I think we should do this more often too,” He agreed.

“The movie’s starting guys!” Chie called out. “So hush!”

The marathon went well into the evening, with Akira, Nanako and even Yosuke seeming to be really into it. Yosuke had even surprised Akira with some Neo Feathermen trivia, stating that he was an expert on the show. Chie had called him a nerd, which of course set off a round of bickering, but Yu was happy.

A few hours in, Yu had managed to fall asleep, head tilted back slightly as he left out soft sighs every once in a while. Nanako and Akira somehow happened to follow suit, leaning into Yu as the three slept. This, of course, didn’t go unnoticed.

“Hey Yukiko, check it out,” Chie whispered, nudging Yukiko’s arm. The two girls looked over to the couch to see Yu sleeping peacefully, with Akira and Nanako huddled into his sides. The rest of the team had also turned to look as well, each of them smiling.

Yosuke let out a sigh of exasperation despite his smile. “Jeez, Kurusu-kun wasn’t kidding when he said that Yu was tired. He really should rest more often.”

“I wanna sleep next to Sensei too,” Teddie whined, crossing his arms with a pout. “Nana-chan and Kurusu-kun are lucky.”

“Given how much banging I hear from the closet at night, I don’t think sleeping next to you would be a good idea Ted,” Yosuke deadpanned.

Teddie gasped, clearly hurt by Yosuke’s words. “How bear-y rude!”

“Quiet!” Chie hissed at him. “You’re gonna wake them up!”

Yukiko gave a soft chuckle. “Now, now. Why don’t we just leave them be? It’s getting late anyways, so we should probably head home.”

The rest of the team agreed, all gathering up their things before leaving the trio to sleep in peace.

\---------------

 

When Dojima arrived home later that evening, he was met with the sight of the three still asleep on the couch. Nanako had since shifted so that her head was resting on Yu’s lap, while Akira was still leaning against Yu’s arm. He shook his head at the sight, smiling fondly before heading to his room. He figured he should let them sleep for the night.


	5. Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly you guys I'm really happy with how much positive reception this fic has been getting! Believe it or not, this is my first fanfiction that I've posted in years, so I was really nervous when I first started. But every time I see a new comment in my email, I can't help but smile! I'm shy so I'm awful at responding to them, but they mean a lot to me. So thank you all for all of the comments, kudos and bookmarks! Enjoy the new chapter!

_Inaba, due to it’s small size, was the perfect place for rumors and gossip to spread. Everyone seemed to know everything, no matter what. They knew if someone had gone through a nasty breakup or divorce, if someone had gotten hurt, a private family matter, you name it. The people of Inaba would gossip about it without fail, not caring if those involved were hurt._

_Akira knew all too well about how Inaba’s rumor mill worked. He had to deal with it himself, afterall._

_It had all started when he was around nine years old. His parents had started coming home later and later into the evening, missing dinner and not even being able to say goodnight to Akira before he went to bed. He had thought nothing of it at first, figuring it was only temporary until their jobs settled down again. But their absence continued well into the school year, and he’d come home to an empty house daily at this point._

_This didn’t escape the eyes of the neighbors. They noticed the lack of a car in the driveway. They noticed lights always being off in his parents’ bedroom. Whispers about Akira’s home-life began to circulate throughout the small country town, nosy neighbors wondering about Akira’s parents. At first it had started innocently enough. Mostly just the neighbors being curious, with questions like “I wonder why Kurusu-san comes home so late” and “Kurusu-san sure does work a lot.”_

_But over the months the whispers began to change, going from innocent inquiries to scathing remarks about how neglectful his parents were. Rumors spread throughout the town like wildfire, of how his parents hated Inaba, of how they hated Akira. And all Akira could do was keep his mouth shut. What could he say to change their minds? He was only a child, nobody would ever listen to him._

_School was the one place where he felt he could get away from those cruel words, if only for a little while. Nobody there talked about him at least, and while the teachers began to keep a bit of a closer eye on him, they at least never said anything about his parents. If they knew about Akira’s family situation, they at least didn’t try to talk to him about it, which filled Akira with a great deal of relief._

_But of course it didn’t last. Not when there were days where the school had asked the parents of the students to come in. Akira’s parents had always been too busy to show up, and his classmates had noticed._

_“I wonder why Akira-kun’s parents aren’t here.”_

_“Haven’t you heard? Apparently his parents are gone all the time. I heard my mom talking about it.”_

_They even had the nerve to ask him about it, going so far as to imply that maybe his parents did hate him. Of course, he didn’t take to kindly to that. He had begun to distance himself from his classmates even more. Thus, he was branded as a loner, a weirdo. His peers would look at him with pity in their eyes, but they’d never try to be his friend._

_No one ever tried to be his friend._

  
\---------------

 

The days of sitting alone in class or waiting all by himself at home seemed to be a distant memory for now. The sound of the Junes theme accompanied by Nanako’s singing filled the living room with a comforting sound, and Akira couldn’t seem to bring himself to feel lonely in her presence.

He watched her with a fond smile as she swayed from side to side, smiling and clapping her hands together when the commercial went off. But then her eyes turned towards him, and she crossed her arms with a look of annoyance on her face.

“Akira-kun, you didn’t sing,” She chastised, pouting at him. “You’re supposed to sing too, like Big Bro.”

Akira shook his head, cheeks flushing. “I-It’s embarrassing… And I’m not a very good singer.”

“That’s ok. Big Bro isn’t very good either, but he tries his best,” She stated, giving Akira firm nod.

“Maybe next time,” He says, trying to appease her for now. It seems to work, since she smiles at him and goes back to watching TV.

Just then is when the door opens, and someone calls out “I’m home,” from the front entrance. Nanako jumps up from her spot by the table, running towards the entrance with a bright smile on her face.

“Welcome home Big Bro!” She exclaims, and Akira could hear Yu chuckle before greeting her back and asking how her day was.

The two walked back towards the living room, Nanako chatting on and on about her day as Yu listens intently with a smile on his face. She looks pointedly at Akira, tugging on Yu’s wrist and pouting.

“Akira-kun wouldn’t sing during the commercial,” She said.

“Oh really now?” Yu says, raising an eyebrow. He looks towards Akira with a teasing smile, eyes filled with mirth as Akira tries to avoid his gaze. “Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed Akira-kun?”

Akira rolls his eyes, trying to will away the warm feeling in his cheeks. “Of course not.”

Nanako tilts her head to the side, brows furrowed in confusion. “But you said it was embarrassing to sing. Were you lying?”

Akira looks between Nanako and Yu, weighing his options. Either lie and have Nanako call him out, or tell the truth and have Yu most likely tease him. He let out a sigh. “N-no…” He mumbles, tucking his knees to his chest.

Yu couldn’t help the amused grin that broke out on his face. “It’s alright.” He crouched down next to Akira, leaning in to whisper in his ear. “Between you and me, I think it’s embarrassing too. But it’s worth it for Nanako’s sake.” He pulled away, giving Akira a gentle smile before turning to Nanako. “I’m gonna walk Akira home, okay?”

“Alright,” Nanako replied, already settling down into her spot at the table. “Bye Akira-kun, thank you for staying with me today!” She said, smiling.

Akira gave her a small smile of his own. “No problem, Nanako-chan. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Akira gave her a small wave, before getting up and walking over to the door alongside Yu. They put on their shoes, before heading outside and walking in the direction of Akira’s house. The sound of cicadas fills the comforting silence between the two as they walk, and Akira takes a moment to look up at the stars above them.

“Thank you for keeping Nanako company while I’m at Junes for the week,” Yu said, getting Akira’s attention. “I’d feel bad if she were by herself all day, so it really helps.”

“I don’t mind. Nanako-chan is really nice, so I like spending time with her,” Akira replied. He gives Yu an annoyed looked all of a sudden, lips drawn together. “I thought we agreed that you’d take a break for once though. It’s summer vacation, Yu.”

Yu gives a nervous chuckle in response, scratching the back of his neck. “Well I couldn’t exactly say no to Yosuke when he asked for help. He sounded pretty panicked when he called me on the phone, so it was hard to turn him down,” Yu explained, clearly avoiding Akira’s eyes.

“Excuses, excuses,” Akira chided. “Clearly you’re just a workaholic.”

Yu let out a thoughtful hum in response. “I suppose it just runs in the family then.”

Akira was about to ask what he meant, until he heard voices from across the street. He looked out of the corner of his eyes, trying not to seem obvious in his staring as he saw at the two women talking across the street. They were both staring at the pair, giving each other looks and speaking in hushed voices.

“Isn’t that Dojima-san’s nephew? What’s he doing with Kurusu-san’s son?” One of them said.

The other one let out a sigh, giving Akira a pitiful glance. “He must feel bad for the poor boy. You know how his parents are. They haven’t been home for days now.”

The other one clicked her tongue, eyes narrowed. She looked as if she smelled something foul. “I’d never abandon my son like that. How awful.”

Akira clenched his fists, staring down at his feet as he tried to block out the rest of their conversation. His jaw was set, in an attempt to keep himself from chewing those women out like he wanted to. But if he did that, then Yu would start worrying over him like a mother hen.

Unfortunately for Akira, Yu was perceptive. He didn’t miss the gloomy expression on Akira’s face, nor did his miss what was said. He nudged Akira’s arm gently with his elbow, prompting the boy to look at him. “What’s all that about?” He asked.

Akira looked away from Yu, walking slightly faster. “Nothing,” He mumbled. “Y’know how it is around here. People love to talk.”

Yu sped up to match the younger boy’s pace. “Well that doesn’t sound like nothing to me,” He said softly.

“Really, it’s nothing,” Akira said firmly, not making eye contact with Yu at all.

The older boy must have decided to drop the topic, since he didn’t say anything more for the rest of the walk home until he bid Akira farewell.

 

\---------------

 

The next day Akira and Nanako decided to visit Junes to see Yu while he was working. They even went out of their way to make onigiri for him to share with Chie, Yosuke and Teddie as well during their lunch break. The two got plenty of thanks from the teens when they were handed the food, and Akira thinks he even sees Teddie tear up a little at the gesture.

“Man, you’re so lucky,” Yosuke whined around a mouthful of food. “Out of all the kids you could be close to, and they both happen to be nice enough to bring you food during work.”

The group sat around one of the tables at the foodcourt, talking away while eating lunch. Nanako talked animatedly with Teddie about some tv show, while Chie and Yu quietly discuss their next training session.

Yu looks at Yosuke curiously for a few moments, before smiling. “I guess I am pretty lucky,” He said fondly, eyes warm.

Yosuke’s nose wrinkles, eyes narrowed as he leans back in his chair. “Can you cut it out with that proud dad look? It’s weird.”

Chie leaned forward, elbows resting on the table and hands resting in her hands as she looked over at Yosuke. “I think someone’s just jealous,” She said, giving Yosuke a teasing smirk.

“So what?” Yosuke grumbles, folding his arms.

Yu gives Yosuke a serious look, but Akira knows him well enough by now to see the amusement in his eyes as he talks. “If you want someone to bring you lunch during your shifts, I’d gladly do it. Like a couple.”

Akira watched as Yosuke’s face quickly became bright pink, and he stifles his laughter by taking a bite of his own onigiri while the brunet sputters in embarrassment.

“Dude! Y-you can’t just say something like that!” He squawked, arms flailing. “People are gonna get the wrong idea!”

Nanako glances at Yosuke curiously, her conversation with Teddie having paused due to the commotion the brunet was causing. “Are you and Big Bro a couple, Yosuke-nii?” She asked, her face the look of pure innocence.

“Wh-what? Of course not Nanako-chan,” He stammered nervously, shaking his head. “He was just joking.”

“Oh, ok,” She replied, turning back to Teddie as they continued talking.

Yosuke frowned at Yu, who only gave him a playful grin in return. “Partner, you gotta lay off the deadpan humor.”

“Sorry,” Yu said, but he didn’t look the least bit apologetic.

Chie pulled out her phone and checked the time, letting out a groan once she saw it. “Lunch break is over,” She stated gloomily, slumping forward. “Why did I agree to help you out again?” She asked, looking at Yosuke with annoyance.

“Because you’re my friend?” He tried.

Chie raised a brow, clearly not taking that as her answer.

Yosuke let out a sigh. “Because I’ll buy you a steak bowl?”

Chie smiled, patting Yosuke’s shoulder. “There ya go.”

Yosuke rolled his eyes. “Jeez, and here I thought you were doing this out of the kindness of your heart.”

“It can be for both,” Chie said, sticking out her tongue afterwards.

“Alright now, lets get back to work guys.” Yu said, standing up. He looked down at Akira. “I assume you and Nanako are going home?”

Akira nodded his head, curls bouncing. “Yeah. We just need to get some stuff before we go home. The fridge is getting pretty empty, so I wanted to help Nanako-chan with the shopping,” He replied.

“Well alright. Today looks like another busy shift, so I probably won’t be home for a while,” Yu said, expression guilty.

“It’s okay. Me and Nanako-chan have a busy day ahead marathoning Detective Loveline,” Akira joked.

Nanako perks up at the mention of Detective Loveline, and she givesthe two a bright smile. “We’re on the case!” She chirped, clenching her first triumphantly.

Yu chuckled, lips upturned. “Well then, I won’t keep you any longer. Have fun.”

He gives them both a small wave, before walking off alongside Chie, Yosuke and Teddie. Nanako and Akira get up from the table, making their way over to the elevator. Nanako hums the Junes jingle to herself on the way down, and Akira can’t help but smile at the way she sways her head from side to side in time with the music. He really did mean it yesterday when he said that he enjoyed spending time with Nanako. The girl was just such a joy to be around.

There was a ping overhead as the elevator reached their stop, and the two got off and made their way towards the produce section after stopping real quick to grab a basket to hold their groceries in. The two looked over some of the fruit, Nanako grabbing a few oranges and telling Akira about how they were her favorite, smiling up at him with sparkling eyes. She skips off to go look at strawberries a little further down the aisle while Akira stays a little further back and checks over a few bananas. He’s in the middle of examining a hand of bananas for spots when a conversation reaches his ears.

“That’s Kurusu isn’t it?”

“I think so…”

He looks over his shoulder, spotting two girls staring at him from across the aisle. Their eyes go wide when he spots them, but they don’t try to walk away, just awkwardly turning back to face each other. These girls are familiar, probably one of the many people in his class that he chooses to ignore.

“Jeez, it’s kinda scary how emotionless he looks all the time,” one of them says, glancing at him warily.

“Totally creepy,” The other agrees. “No wonder his only friends are cats,” She scoffs, turning her nose up. “Even his parents don’t want anything to do with him.”

Akira feels his entire body tense, and suddenly their conversation is obnoxiously loud in his ears. He feels his fists clench as they both begin to giggle and sneer at him, and it’s as if he’s alone again. Nobody there to talk to him. Nobody to be his friend. He wonders, briefly, if they’re right. If he was just creepy, and maybe that’s why he didn’t have friends. He was alone, always alone--

“Akira-kun?”

Akira feels a tugging on his sleeve, and looks down to see Nanako staring up at him, eyes wide with worry and lips turned down in a frown.

“I-I’m sorry, Nanako-chan,” He says, trying to calm down his nerves. “I must have been zoning out there.”

Nanako’s brows furrow, and it looks like she wants to say something. She looks over at those girls, still standing there and staring, this time in confusion. A few moments pass, and for a second nothing happens.

And then she sticks her tongue out at them, before grabbing Akira’s wrist and pulling him away.

“Let's finish shopping so we can watch Detective Loveline,” Nanako says firmly, cheeks puffed out.

Akira stumbles awkwardly alongside her as she walks him down the aisle, mumbling a quiet “O-ok…” as he gives one last look at the girls over his shoulder. Both of them look mildly offended, and Akira can’t help the sudden smugness that wells up in him at the sight.

 

\---------------

 

“Everyday’s great at your Junes!”

Akira watches as Nanako turns to him, an expectant look in her eyes as they both sit in front of the TV. This time he decides to humor her and sing, if only because the image of those girls looking offended is still fresh in his mind. So really, he’s just repaying Nanako for being a good friend.

Friend.

Were he and Nanako friends? He considered her to be close to him, although he’d never really given much thought to if they were friends or not. Yu always told him that Nanako really enjoys seeing him, asking when he’d come over again and cheering whenever he told her that the boy was stopping by. Maybe she did see him as a friend. For some reason that thought made a goofy grin break out on his face, chest warm and fuzzy.

“Nanako-chan, why don’t we do something fun tomorrow?” He says, watching as the girl perks up.

“Like what?” She asked, excitement clear in her voice.

“Well, I have some water guns at my house. Since it’s gonna be sunny tomorrow, why don’t we go to the Samegawa and play with them? Doesn’t that sound like fun, Nanako-chan?”

Nanako’s eyes practically sparkle, and she claps her hands together with joy. “Yeah! That sounds really fun! I really like spending time with you, Akira-kun!”

Friends.

He thinks he and Nanako are friends.

  
\---------------

 

The two spend the afternoon running around by the riverbed and blasting each other with water, yelling and laughing as they went. Nanako, as it turns out, has really good aim, and she manages to get Akira drenched in record time. A little while later they take a break to eat the lunch they’ve brought and sit under the gazebo. They have towels wrapped around their necks, but it does little to help with how soaked they are.

“I wish Big Bro were here too,” Nanako says, taking a sip of TaP.

Akira nods, giving her a playful smile. “Yeah, then we could team up on him. He can’t win against us.”

“Yep!” Nanako agrees, giggling. The two chat peacefully for a few minutes, and despite the awkward way his shirt clings to his skin, Akira’s sure this is the happiest he’s been in a long time.

“Kurusu?”

The two look up, and their eyes meet with a group of four kids who look to be about Akira’s age. One of them, a boy with brown hair and a deep frown, clicks his tongue.

“Huh, didn’t think I’d see you around here today. With company anyways,” He says, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“U-uh…” Akira stutters dumbly, not sure of what to say.

“Since when did you hang out with people instead of cats,” One of the other kids, a girl with black hair pulled into a ponytail, asks. She looks at Nanako quizzically, before frowning. “Don’t you know that he’s weird? Why’re you here with him?”

“Because he’s my friend,” Nanako says plainly, as if it’s the simplest thing in the world.

Another one of the boys scoffs. “But Kurusu doesn’t have friends. The only ones willing to hang out with him are cats.”

The rest of the kids begin to laugh, and the sound makes Akira’s stomach lurch.

“L-let’s just go, Nanako-chan,” He mutters, looking down at his lap.

But Nanako ignores him, and stands up from her seat, fists clenched at her sides. “You guys are just being mean,” She says, puffing out her cheeks. “Akira-kun does have friends, like me and Big Bro!”

“Big Bro?” Questions the girl with the black ponytail. “You mean that guy with the grey hair?” She sneers, eyes narrowed. “I bet he only hangs out with Kurusu because he feels bad for him. Probably doesn’t even see him as a friend.”

“Th-that’s not true!” Nanako says, stomping her foot in frustration.

Akira stands up then, placing a hand on Nanako’s shoulder. “It’s alright Nanako-chan,” He says. He looks at the group of kids, giving them a cold glare. “These guys are just jerks.”

“Oh really? What we’re saying is probably true anyways,” says the boy with the brown hair. “That guy just feels bad, since all you do is mope around. You probably looked pathetic.”

“So what?” Akira whispers.

“Huh?”

“I said so what! So what if Yu-san only hangs out with me because he feels bad! I don’t care! At least he tried to, unlike you guys!” He shouts, fists clenched at his sides. He feels his chest ache, and reaches up to scrub his eyes. They come back wet, but he can’t bring himself to care. All he cares about his the bitter anger that’s been building up inside him, ready to be released. “He invites me to his house, and cooks for me and even lets me hang out with his friends! Yu-san may just feel bad for me, b-but I… I…”

Akira can tell he’s shaking at this point, and he scrubs at his eyes again, trying his best to wipe away his tears. The anger dies away, leaving nothing but sadness in it’s place. Everyone has gone silent at this point, the only sound being Akira’s crying. The group of kids just watch awkwardly, shuffling their feet. Nanako’s about to say something to them, but her eyes go wide as she sees something behind them.

“Big Bro…”

The kids all turn around, to see Yu, Chie, Yosuke and Teddie behind them, each with varying expressions on their face. Chie looks angry, hands on her hips as she glares at the kids, while Yosuke and Teddie have looks of surprise on their face. Yu’s expression, however, is unreadable.

The kids all bolt quickly, afraid of what might happen in they stick around any longer. The group of teens approach Akira and Nanako, and the air is tense when they get near.

“What jerks,” Chie grumbles.

“You can say that again,” Yosuke agrees, arms crossed. “Are you guys alright?”

“Yosuke!” Chie snapped, smacking his arm. “What kind of stupid question is that? Can’t you see that… Y’know…” She trails off awkwardly, nervously eyeing Akira.

“Can you guys walk Nanako home?” Yu asks, face still blank.

“Huh? What’s up, Sensei?” Teddie asks, looking up at Yu curiously. “Aren’t you coming-- H-hey!”

Teddie yelps as Yosuke grabs his arm. “C’mon Ted,” He says sternly. “Lets just take Nanako-chan home.”

Chie packs up what’s left of their lunch, Nanako asking worriedly about what’s going. Chie assures her that everything is fine, and the four walk off. Akira doesn’t want to look up at Yu, feeling embarrassed about being seen crying. He doesn’t want to know what Yu has to say, but he’s too nervous to move.

Yu lets out a sigh, and sits down at the gazebo. Akira awkwardly sits next to him, still not willing to meet his eyes. Yu’s quiet for a few more moments, before finally speaking.

“I heard what those kids had said. About me just hanging out with you because I felt bad,” He says quietly. He waits for Akira to respond, but when he doesn’t get a reply, he just continues on. “I… I wanted to tell you that it’s, a bit more complicated than that.”

Akira finally looks up, giving Yu a confused look. “Complicated?”

Yu nods. He looks down at his lap for a few moments, as if mulling over his thoughts, before looking up at Akira again. “I see a lot of myself in you,” He admits. “When I was your age, my parents would often leave me alone. They had busy jobs, so most of the time I’d spend nights waiting for them to come back. I didn’t have very many friends either. But that’s because I didn’t see a point.” He places a hand on Akira’s shoulder. “I felt something nagging at me from the moment I saw you, all by yourself. And then when I heard about how similar our situations were, I realized something. I realized that I didn’t want you to be alone too. This year I figured out how important it was to be connected to people. How happy it could make me.” He gives Akira a gentle smile, eyes fond and warm. “I wanted you to be happy too.”

Akira can’t seem to help it when the tears come back, and he lets out another sniffle as he averts his eyes. He rubs his eyes, trying his best not to cry in front of Yu again.

“I-I… I am happy,” He says, trembling. “You’re the first person who doesn’t talk about me or bring up my parents all the time. The only person who seems to know the real me. And it makes me really happy. I know we haven’t known each other that long, but I… I think you’re like a brother to me, Yu-san.” He gives Yu a wobbly smile. “Or maybe I should say Yu-nii.”

Yu doesn’t get flustered this time, only smiles and ruffles Akira’s hair. “You can say whatever makes you happy. I feel the same way anyways.” He stands up, holding out a hand and helping Akira to his feet. “Now why don’t we go home. I’m sure Nanako’s worried about you.”

“Yeah.” He gives Yu a smug grin. “Did you know that she stuck her tongue out at some girls for me yesterday?”

Yu raised an eyebrow, giving Akira an amused smile. “Oh really now?”

“Yep! Nanako-chan’s really cool!”

The two walked back to the house, the tension from before having lifted as if it were never there at all. When they get home Nanako frets over them, of course, but the two manage to calm her down. Yosuke, Chie and Teddie stick around for dinner, and the conversation is light and easy. When Yu and Nanako give him fond smiles, he feels his chest warm and he finally comes to a conclusion.

Yu and Nanako were definitely his friends.


	6. The End Of Summer

The surrounding lights illuminated the shrine grounds as Yu maneuvered his way through the crowd of the summer festival, Akira in tow. The younger boy clutched the back of Yu’s shirt, trying his best not to get lost as they made their way towards Yosuke, Teddie and Kanji.

“Hey, Partner!” Yosuke greets once he spots them, giving them a small wave as the two join up with the others. “I didn’t know you were bringing Akira-kun too.” He said, nodding his head towards the other boy.

“Well, I wanted to get him out of the house for the day. Him and Nanako have been cooped up in the house all day watching Loveline for the past week, so it’ll do him some good to go outside for once,” He said, giving Akira a teasing smile as the boy sticks his tongue out at him.

“You’re acting like I’m a hermit who doesn’t go outside,” He mumbled, pouting. “And I’ll have you know, watching Loveline with Nanako-chan is fun.”

“So Akira-kun, anything in particular ya plan on doin’ while you’re here?” Kanji asked, stuffing his hands in his pants pockets.

“Oh, oh! I really wanted to catch goldfish! And eat lots of cotton candy!” He replied, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Goldfish, huh? Well I’ll show you how to catch goldfish like a pro,” Yosuke said confidently, nose pointed in the air.

“I’m placing my bets on Aki-kun,” Teddie said. “No offense Yosuke, but beating you in anything is any easy feat!”

“No offense?!” Yosuke cried, glaring at him. “How am I not supposed to take offense to that?!”

Before the two could go into a round of bickering, the girls showed up, dressed up in yukatas.

“Sorry we took so long,” Chie said, holding Nanako’s hand as they came to a stop in front of the others.

The girls explain that it took them a while to get dressed, along with Nanako saying that it’s hard to walk. Yu, Akira and Teddie all compliment Nanako’s outfit, causing her to giggle as her cheeks turn rosy. She thanks them, while Yosuke teases Kanji over him not looking at the girls in their yukatas. Dojima walks up and thanks the group for looking after Nanako. The young girl shows off the cotton candy that the girls bought her, smiling happily. Dojima laughs fondly, and asks Nanako if she wants to go play shateki with him.

“Only if Akira-nii can come too!” She says, grabbing the boy by the hand. Akira looks flustered, and the teens can’t help but snicker as he twirls his fringe between his index finger and thumb.

Dojima chuckled. “Now, now Nanako. Only if he wants to.”

“I don’t mind,” Akira said. He turned to look at Nanako, smiling at her and squeezing her hand. “I’ll win you a prize, ok Nanako-chan?”

“Yay!” Nanako cheered.

Dojima turned back towards the group. “I’ll take care of them from here. Why don’t you kids go have some fun? C’mon you two.”

Akira and Nanako waved goodbye to the group, before being led off by Dojima. With the teens left to their own devices, Teddie immediately suggest that everyone should pair off. Rise immediately jumps at the idea, making her intention of spending time with Yu obvious. The girls leave it up to the guys to decide who pairs off, and ultimately Teddie comes out as the sole victor, managing to finesse his way into going all by himself with the girls. Yosuke, as expected, is miffed, but he gets over quickly enough and decides to just make the most of things by spending time with Yu and Kanji.

“So,” Yosuke started, standing closer to Yu. “How are things going with you and Akira-kun? Has he been okay ever since… well y’know?”

Yu thinks back to that time at the floodplain, and his chest aches a bit at the memory of Akira’s teary eyes and sniffles, but he smiles when he thinks about how much cheerful to boy seemed to be afterwards. He thinks about how Akira has started calling him ‘Yu-nii’ all the time now, and instead of the embarrassment it caused him at first, it fills him with a sense of belonging, a sense that this is how things are supposed to be.

“It’s been going great. He’s a lot happier now. Although I could do without his rather… aggressive attempts to get me to relax,” Yu said, scratching his neck. “He keeps on hiding my summer homework. I’m not even sure how he finds it half the time…”

Yosuke gaped, eyes widening a bit in surprise. “Wow… Akira-kun sure doesn’t mess around when it comes to you and relaxing, huh Partner?”

“Well, I think it’s kinda nice that ya have someone lookin’ after ya like that Senpai,” Kanji said. “Akira-kun seems like a good kid.”

Yu smiled fondly at that. “He is.”

Yosuke grinned as he pat Yu on the back. “Softie.”

Yu rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Now why don’t we go and play some games?”

“Oh hell yeah!” Kanji cheered, pumping his fist in the air. “Time for me to show my stuff!”

Yosuke smirked. “Oh really now? Well hopefully your pride won’t be wounded by my skills.”

The three boys decided to do goldfish scooping first. Yosuke, despite his words earlier of showing off his pro goldfish scooping skills, didn’t manage to catch a single fish. Kanji at least managed to catch one, while Yu caught two, but decided to put them back. Yosuke points out the masks for sale, managing to make Yu and Kanji laugh when he gets one depicting one of the characters from Neo Feathermen, putting on a voice and reciting lines from the show.

“Yu-nii!”

The three turn to see Akira running up to them, a plastic bag in hand. He stops in front of them, smiling excitedly as he proudly holds up a bag containing three fish.

“Look, look! I managed to catch three goldfish! I almost caught four, but the scoop broke.”

Yu didn’t miss the pouty expression on Yosuke’s face as he crossed his arms, and he had to stop himself from laughing as he reached out to ruffle Akira’s hair.

“Good job. Where’s Nanako, by the way?”

“She was getting sleepy, so Dojima-san took her home. I wanted to come and look for you though,” Akira explained. “I won some toys for Nanako-chan from the toy scoop. I even got one for myself!” He reached into his pocket, before pulling out a pikachu toy.

“It’s impressive and all, but I bet I could do better,” Yosuke said, trying miserably to hide his wounded ego.

Kanji frowned at him. “Senpai, are you really gonna go at a kid over some festival games?”

“Oh it’s fine,” Akira said. He smirked, an air of confidence surrounding him. “He’s dead wrong anyways. I’d cream him at any of these games.”

Yosuke’s eyes narrowed. “Oh really now? Well then, why don’t we put that to the test? Let’s do the super ball scoop. Whoever scoops up the most balls wins.”

Akira nodded. “Alright. But don’t start complaining when you lose.”

Needless to say, Akira was the clear winner. He proudly showed off his haul to Yu, while Yosuke sulked over his more pitiful showing.

“Good job Akira,” Yu said. He turned to Yosuke, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t need to get all pouty, by the way.”

“I am _not_ pouty,” Yosuke said, looking away to hide the fact that he was indeed pouting. “That game is rigged,” He huffed.

Yu chuckled. “Whatever you say.”

Akira looked around briefly, before looking up at Yu. “I forgot to ask earlier, but where are the girls? And Teddie? Did they go home?”

“Nah. Teddie is off with the girls somewhere,” Kanji answered. “Got no clue where they went off to though--.”

“Teddie! Hands off my takoyaki! I bought this for me!”

“You’re messing up my yukata! Ugh!”

“Where do you think you’re touching?!”

“Welp,” Yosuke started awkwardly, “I guess we do know where they went.”

“Let's go save that bear’s punk ass before the girls kick him into next week,” Kanji said, already starting on his way over to the others.

“Agreed,” Yosuke said, tagging along.

Akira looked at Yu, head tilted in confusion. “Why did Kanji-san call Teddie a bear?”

“Oh, it’s... because of his costume at Junes,” Yu lied.

“Is that why he makes those terrible bear puns?”

Yu chuckled. “I don’t think you should let Teddie hear you say that. He might get offended.” Yu nodded his head towards one of the food stalls. “Want some yakitori?”

Akira smiled, enthusiastically nodding his head. “Yeah!”

The two walked over to the stall, Yu paying for their yakitori, before going to sit on one of the benches nearby. Akira swung his legs back and forth, humming happily to himself as he took bites from his skewer.

Yu looked up at the stars, smiling to himself. “You know, I haven’t been to a summer festival in a really long time.”

Akira turned to look at Yu, surprised. “Really?”

“Yeah. I told you how they were always busy, right?” He asked.

“I remember you mentioning it before, yeah.”

“Well, we never really went to summer festivals much because of it. My mom always said that her and my dad had too much work to do, so we just stopped going altogether.” He looked back towards Akira, smiling fondly. “I’m glad I got to go to one again. It was fun spending time here with people that I care about."

Akira looked flustered for a moment, eyes wide as he stared at Yu. “O-Oh… Me too…” He looked down at his lap. “Y-Y’know, we should really go visit the cats by the floodplain… I’m pretty sure Mai misses me…”

Yu chucked at Akira changing the subject due to embarassment, but decided not to tease him. “We should. Afterall, we only have a week left until summer ends."

Yu expected Akira to respond with enthusiasm, but instead his expression became unreadable. “A week huh…” He mumbled quietly.

Yu figured it was just leftover embarrassment that made Akira go quiet, and decided not to press him about it.

Surely this wouldn’t come back to bite him in the butt, right?

 

\--------------------

 

Since it was the last week of summer vacation, Yu decided to dedicate his time to helping Nanako with her summer homework. When Yu had asked Akira about his, the boy tried to play it off like he didn’t have any, but quickly broke under Yu’s steely gaze. The three sat around the table in the living room, Yu watching as Akira and Nanako worked, occasionally answering questions from the two whenever they had any. Well, mainly answering questions from Nanako. Akira had been oddly quiet, a stark contrast to his more talkative nature.

So obviously, Yu was worried.

He watched as Akira quietly worked on his homework, face about as impassive as it was when they first met. The younger boy let out the occasional hum, tapping his chin with his pencil in thought. As if he could feel Yu’s eyes on him, he glanced up at Yu through his bangs.

“Is something up?” He asked. “You keep on looking at me.”

Yu chuckled nervously. “I didn’t think you noticed.” He carefully thought over what he was about to say, wondering if he should ask Akira if something was wrong. Worst case scenario, Akira would just get huffy about it, so it wouldn’t hurt too much to ask him if something was bothering him.

“You’re still staring at me. It’s weird,” Akira huffed, breaking Yu out of his thoughts.

“Sorry. It’s just… Are you alright, Akira?”

Akira’s brows furrowed as he straightened his posture, setting his pencil down on the table. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well it’s just that you’ve been really quiet ever since you got here. I was just wondering if something was on your mind, that’s all,” Yu explained.

Akira frowned. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just not feeling very talkative today is all…” He said quietly, glancing down at the table.

“Alright. But if there’s anything you want to talk about, you can talk about it with me.”

“Really Yu-san, everything’s fine.”

Yu quirked a brow at Akira, confused. “Yu-san? What happened to Yu-nii? Is that what this is about?”

Akira’s face scrunched up in frustration. “No, it’s just- I just- Ugh!” He threw his hands up. “It’s nothing ok!”

Yu was left speechless, wide-eyed at Akira’s outburst. Had he done something wrong?

Nanako looked worriedly between the two. “...Are you two fighting?” She asked hesitantly, lips downturned.

“N-No, we’re not fighting,” Yu said, trying to reassure not only Nanako, but himself, that he and Akira were indeed not fighting.

Akira, who had somehow managed to pack up his things at lightning speed, stood up. “It’s a little late. I should head home,” He mumbled. He walked towards the entryway and began to put on his shoes.

“So soon?” Yu asked, hurriedly standing on his feet and following him. “Are you sure? Do you need me to walk you home?”

“No, I’m fine,” He declined. He finished pulling on his shoes, and quickly went over to the door. He didn’t even spare Yu a glance as he said, “Goodbye, Yu-san.”

Before Yu could say anything to him, Akira was gone.

 

\--------------------

 

The next day, Akira calls Yu and tells him that he won’t be coming over. He says that he’s sick, and Yu immediately offers to come to his house to keep him company, but Akira declines. He tries to assure Yu that everything is fine, but given his mood yesterday something was clearly wrong.

Later, when he’s helping Nanako with her homework, the doorbell rings. Yu lets himself hope that it’s Akira, sorely missing his calming presence throughout the day. He rushes over to the door, and opens it, only to find Yosuke and Teddie standing outside, not the boy who he had become so fond of during the course of the summer.

Yosuke and Teddie must have noticed the way his face fell, because the two immediately looked worried.

“Is something wrong Sensei?” Teddie asked, worriedly. “Are you not happy to see us?”

Yosuke elbows Teddie in the side, glaring at him. “Teddie, why don’t you go say hi to Nanako?” He suggests, but it sounds more like a command. Teddie, thankfully, reads the mood for once, as he immediately slips off his shoes before going to chat with Nanako and leaving Yu alone with Yosuke. Yosuke walks inside, closing the door behind him, before leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. “What’s up?” He asks.

Yu bites his lip, before letting out a sigh. “I’m not sure why… But I think something’s wrong with Akira.”

Yosuke quirks a brow. “Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Well, he’s been acting weird ever since that day we went to the summer festival. He called and told me he wasn’t coming over because he’s sick apparently.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m really worried about him.”

“Well why don’t you just ask him what’s wrong?” Yosuke questioned.

“I tried to yesterday, but Akira clearly didn’t want to talk about whatever was bothering him.”

Yosuke tapped his foot on the ground, humming in thought. “Well, what do you think could be the reason why he’s upset? Any ideas?”

Yu shook his head. “I’m not sure. He started acting like this after I brought up that there’s only a week left until school starts. I get that he’d be bummed out about it, but I don’t think that’s why he was upset.”

“Aren’t his parents coming back soon? Do you think he doesn’t want them to come home?” Yosuke suggested.

Yu shook his head again, frowning. “He gets rather defensive about his parents, so I don’t think that’s the case. He’s never talked about them in a negative light before.”

Yosuke let out a sigh. “Really, I think you should just sit down and talk this out with him. Even if he gets angry. I don’t think letting him brood on his own is gonna do either of you any good.”

“I’ll try the next time I see him.” Yu gave Yosuke a small smile. “Thank you, Yosuke.”

Yosuke smiled bashfully, rubbing his neck. “Aw geez, I didn’t really do much, Partner. But it’s no problem.” He walked forward and slung an arm around Yu. “Now come on, I wanna say hi to Nanako-chan.”

 

\--------------------

 

Yu had hoped that by the next day that Akira would be willing to come over again. But soon two days of Akira being missing went on to be four days, then suddenly it was Monday and Yu still hadn’t seen Akira. He kept calling to assure Yu that everything was fine, that he was just sick, but Yu was tired of worrying all day. So, of course, he went to go look for him.

When he visited the boy’s house, knocking on the door yielded no results. He pulled out his cellphone and tried to call, but that just resulted in the call going to voicemail. So either Akira was ignoring him, or he just wasn’t home. He didn’t like the idea of Akira just outright ignoring him, so he decided to go look somewhere else for the boy.

The first place he thought to head to was the floodplains. Akira was fond of all the cats there, so Yu had figured that maybe Akira went there to clear his head. But when he got there, all he was greeted by was a lonely looking Mai, who had about as much of a clue to Akira’s whereabouts as Yu did. He asked the old man there if he had seen the boy, but the old man just shook his head and said no.

The next place he went to was the Shopping District. Ever since Yu had taken the boy to Souzai Daigaku, Akira would bring up going there sometimes to get something to eat. When he went there however, Akira was nowhere to be found. He let out a long sigh, running through a mental list of all the places Akira could possibly be.

“Senpai?”

Yu started, whipping around to see Rise staring up at him worriedly. He let out a sigh, slumping forward slightly.

“Oh, it’s just you Rise,” He breathed.

Rise tilted her head to the side curiously. “You seem jumpy, Senpai. Is something wrong?”

“I’m looking for Akira. Have you seen him?” Yu asked, trying not to let the desperation he felt seep into his voice.

“Nope, sorry,” Rise said, shaking her head. “But it’s weird that you’re asking. Aren’t you two glued at the hip most of the time?”

Yu frowned, feeling a sense of shame creep up his spine. They were glued at the hip, and Yu should know where Akira is. Akira should be at the Dojima's, chatting up a storm with Nanako about Loveline and poking fun at Yu’s hair. They should be out by the floodplains, playing in the river and petting cats. There were so many things that Yu wanted to do with Akira before summer ended, but now there’s hardly any time, and Yu feels like an awful friend for not helping Akira get through whatever problem he’s having.

“Earth to Senpai. Are you alright?” Rise asked, waving a hand in front of Yu’s face.

Yu shook his head. “Sorry. I should go, I need to go find Akira.”

“Alright. Good luck finding him. See ya later Senpai!” She said cheerfully, before turning on her heels and walking back in the direction of Marukyu Tofu.

Yu decided to head to Junes next. He figured that maybe Akira needed to buy groceries, so there could be a chance he’d be there. He looked around the various aisles, but there was no sign of Akira. He cursed quietly to himself, before heading up to the food court. Maybe Teddie was up there, and he could have seen Akira. Once he stepped off the elevator, he immediately began to look for the bear, but he was nowhere to be seen.

He walked over to the table where he and the rest of the investigation team usually sit, fully prepared to sulk (he wouldn’t admit that to himself though), but a certain sight made him stop in his tracks.

Sitting at the table was Yosuke and Akira. The young boy looked flustered, cheeks red as he stared down at the table, while Yosuke’s shoulders shook from what Yu assumed was laughter. He couldn’t see Yosuke’s face, as he was sitting in the chair facing away from Yu, but he could tell from the sound of his voice that Yosuke was probably giving Akira a gentle smile.

“He’s really worried about you, y’know? I know it may be hard, but you should talk to him about it. Partner’s a bit of a worrywart when it comes to you, so I think if you keep him waiting any longer he’ll explode,” Yosuke said.

Akira looked up, mouth open as he was about to respond, but whatever words he had died in his throat as he locked eyes with Yu. His eyes widened in panic, and he pressed his back against his seat. Yosuke looked over his shoulder to see what Akira was so worried about, eyes meeting with Yu’s. Yosuke smiled, turning back to Akira and patting him on the shoulder. He then stood up, walking over to Yu.

He smiled, placing a hand on Yu’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “He’s all yours now, Partner. Good luck.”

Yosuke walked off, presumably to get back to work, leaving Yu to stand there awkwardly eyeing Akira. The boy refused to meet his eyes, fidgeting nervously in his chair as he looked down at his lap. Yu hesitantly walked over to the table, before taking a seat. He waited a few moments before speaking, wanting to see if Akira would try and run for it or if he’d stay. Luckily for him, Akira decided to stay seated.

Yu let out a sigh. “Akira, I know something is bothering you, and I want to help you ok? But I need you to talk to me.” He smiled when Akira looked up him, hoping that it would make the boy feel some sense of relief. “Now then, what’s wrong?”

Akira bit his lip for a few moments, before speaking. “I’m… I’m scared…” He said quietly.

Yu’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Scared?”

Akira huffed. “When summer ends, my parents will be back. That means…” Akira trailed off, lip quivering slightly. “That means that you won’t have a reason to hang out with me anymore…”

“Akira…”

“You also have a lot of friends, and other people who really need you. I know I sound selfish, but what if they take up all your time? And then you won’t be able to spend time with me anymore. And then I’ll be… I’ll be…” Tears began to brim in Akira’s eyes, and he sniffled. “I’ll be alone again. And I don’t wanna be alone. I’m used to you being there all the time, and I’m used to seeing Nanako-chan everyday. I’m used to everyday always being fun and exciting because I have people to spend time with. So I’m scared that if summer ends, it’ll never be like that again… That you’ll leave me.”

Yu felt something painful stir in his chest, and suddenly the only thought he had was to comfort Akira. He stood up from his seat, walking around the table and crouching down next to Akira.

“Y-Yu-san, what are you--?”

Before Akira could finish his sentence, he was pulled into a firm hug by Yu.

“I’d never leave you alone. I promise,” Yu said. “Even when summer ends, I’ll always have time for you.”

Akira’s cheeks went red, but he made no move to pull away. “Geez, you could have said that without the hug. You’re embarrassing me,” He whined.

Yu chucked, pulling back slightly. “Well, I guess it’s an older brother’s job to be embarrassing.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Akira mumbled. He squirmed slightly, before looking up at Yu. “You meant what you said right?” He asked, hopeful.

Yu smiled, ruffling Akira’s hair. “Of course. Besides, Nanako would be sad if you stopped coming over. She misses you a lot.”

Akira became even more flustered, reaching up to twirl part of his fringe between his fingers. “O-oh… Well I missed her too,” He said, the corners of his lips twitching. “I’m sorry for acting stupid about this whole thing. I should have just told you what was going on.”

“It’s fine. Now let's go to my place. We can go get Nanako and head over to the floodplain.”

“Ok!”

Safe to say, the rest of the day went pretty well.

 

\--------------------

 

“Yu-nii, scoot over!”

Yu moved over on the porch, making room for Akira to sit in between him and Nanako. Yu eyed the large slice of watermelon on Akira’s plate warily.

“You sure you can eat all that?” He asked.

Akira rolled his eyes. “Of course I can.”

“Alright then. I won’t stop you,” Yu said with a grin, which Akira returned.

Yu looked around him, taking in the sight of his friends and family gathered together to eat watermelon. They all talked cheerfully, despite it being the last day of summer vacation, and Yu felt something warm settle within him. He turned back to watch as Akira chatted animatedly with Nanako, smiling and giggling at something he said.

“You’ve got that proud dad look going on again.”

Yu looked to his other side to see Yosuke taking a seat next to him. The brunet smiled, swinging his legs back and forth.

Yu decided to take the comment in stride, eyes filled with a sense of fondness as he looked back at Akira and Nanako. “I’m just glad they’re getting along.” He turns back to Yosuke, head tilted forward slightly. “Thanks, by the way.”

Yosuke quirked a brow. “Huh?”

“For what you did the other day. I’m sure if you didn’t talk to Akira, I wouldn’t have been able to sit down and get to the bottom of things. What did you say to him anyways?”

Yosuke’s flushed then, looking oddly embarrassed, and scratched the back of his neck. “Oh well, I kinda just told him that it was normal to feel nervous about not being able to see someone special to you all the time anymore. I kinda used my own feelings to relate to him I guess? Because well… I’m kind of nervous about when you’ll leave at the end of the year.” He gave Yu a shy smile. “Sounds kind of lame, right Partner?”

Yu felt somewhat flustered by what Yosuke had said, and he couldn’t seem to form any kind of decent response. But luckily he didn’t have to, as he felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned to see Akira peering up at him.

“Yu-nii, can you pass me another slice of watermelon?”

The rest of the day continued on peacefully, and Yu knew one thing for certain. When the end of the year comes, that doesn’t mean the end of his bond with Akira.

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm very attached to the idea that Akira grew up in Inaba. I'm also attached to the idea that Yu and him have a cute sibling relationship and being able to relate. Thus, this AU was born.


End file.
